In Monday’s (5/17) New York Times, Margalit Fox writes, “David Randolph, a choral conductor whose performances of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ with the Masterwork Chorus were for decades a mainstay of New York’s holiday season, died on Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 95. The cause was complications of pneumonia, said Sheridan Chapin, a friend of many years. For more than half a century Mr. Randolph was a vigorous presence in the musical life of the New York area. He was the original music director of the Masterwork Chorus, a high-level amateur group he led through 37 seasons and 166 ‘Messiahs’ before stepping down in 1992. … A familiar voice on the radio, Mr. Randolph was the host of a weekly classical music program on WNYC in New York, originally titled ‘Music for the Connoisseur’ and later called ‘The David Randolph Concerts.’ … But it was as the leader of the Masterwork Chorus, which has sung the ‘Messiah’ in Carnegie Hall each December since 1961, that Mr. Randolph was probably best known.”
Posted May 17, 2010
